In its former incarnation as part of the Brighton Media Centre, Media House has helped numerous digital businesses grow and prosper. However the building on Middle Street closed a few years ago and quickly fell into disrepair. Thankfully this is about to change as we’ve just closed the deal to make it our new home in Brighton.
Since Clearleft started in 2005, we’ve grown steadily but surely. We’ve spent the vast majority of that time housed by our friends at Lighthouse, moving from their smallest studio to their largest. We love it here, but we’re starting to feel a little cramped, so we felt it was time to strike out on our own and secure a permanent base for our company.
Finding quality office space in Brighton is a huge challenge. It’s taken two years to finally find somewhere which fits the bill, and the process hasn't been without its complications. Not least the fact that the building we wanted was squatted earlier this year, causing an estimated £60k worth of damage.
Our new office will see us going from just under 1,200 sq ft to a whopping 5,000 sq ft. We’ve got fantastic plans for the space and can’t wait to make use of the extra room. We’re going to take the building back to its shell, and redesign it specifically for our needs. We’ll be installing project rooms, workshop areas and collaboration spaces; designing a rooftop garden and patio area; and have a whole floor dedicated to social and community activities.
We also intend to rent out one (925 Sq ft) or possibly two offices (879 Sq ft) offices in the building on a short term, 6 months rolling contract. If you’re an interesting digital company that would like to share space with us, please get in touch.
This is obviously going to be a big project and signing the deeds is just the first step, so we won’t be moving in until the summer. We hope to have the ground floor ready for the Digital Festival and are keen to find local digital artists and community groups to make use of the space.
We’re working with a great architect and the parallels between our professions have been fascinating to see. We’ll be posting more plans and images as the project develops, so please do keep an eye on the blog to see how our new home is progressing.